ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a multimethod study on the transfer student transition to a public 4-year institution. It provides survey data results around issues of belonging, and also presents data from interviews conducted the following fall with transfer students. The chapter focuses on how the transfer student experience creates different concerns that influence how they interpret belonging and how traditional events may not meet their needs. It explains three primary theoretical approaches used in considering aspects of belonging. The first is socialization or integration, which assumes that the individual should shed their values, behaviors, and norms and assume those of the new environment. The second approach used to define belonging is connected to concepts of person–environment fit between a student and the campus community. The third approach frames belonging as a fundamental human need and posits that students will seek opportunities to satisfy it.
